The present invention relates to a tie down device to secure items to a deck. More particularly, it relates to a device which will secure equipment such as lawn mowers, garden tractors, snow blowers, and construction equipment to a trailer deck to secure such equipment for transport.
Landscape contractors, builders, snow removal contractors, and even home owners have a need to transport equipment to and from a job site. This transport of equipment is generally accomplished using a trailer, and it is preferred to secure the equipment to the trailer so it will not move around or fall off during transit. There is a need for a simple mechanism to safely and quickly secure the equipment to the trailer. Preferably, this mechanism should be inexpensive, easy to install, and easy to use. It should not be in the way when loading or unloading the equipment onto the trailer, and it should also offer the possibility of not only tying down but also of locking down the equipment to the trailer so that the equipment may not be readily stolen.
The present invention provides a tie down device to secure equipment to a trailer deck. A preferred embodiment of the present invention has two main partsxe2x80x94a retractable tie down arm, which is secured to the trailer deck, and an equipment connector, which is secured to the equipment to be tied down (by welding, bolting, riveting, or some other suitable means). In the preferred embodiment, the tie down arm has a receiving nose with an opening that is sized to receive a projection from the equipment connector.
To secure the equipment to the trailer, the equipment is placed on the trailer so that the equipment connector is next to the tie down arm (which at this point is still mostly retracted under the trailer deck). The tie down arm is then pulled up, and the opening on the nose of the arm is slid over a projection on the equipment connector. A locking pin is inserted through a hole in the projection to fasten the projection and arm together. The locking pin may be replaced by a padlock or other lock in order to lock down the equipment to the trailer.